Circadian rhythms are the natural, internal processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and repeat roughly every 24 hours. 



These rhythms, influenced by environmental cues like light and darkness, play a crucial role in various bodily functions ranging from sleep regulation to hormone release.



When these rhythms fall out of sync - due to factors such as artificial lighting, irregular schedules, or travel across time zones - people can experience disruptions in sleep, mood, and overall well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lights-reset-circadian-rhythms">Lights reset circadian rhythms</h2>



New research has revealed that the vibrant blue and orange hues seen at sunrise and sunset may hold the key to resetting these rhythms. 



By mimicking these natural light cycles, scientists at the University of Washington in Seattle have developed a novel LED light that emits alternating wavelengths of blue and orange. 



The LED device, designed to realign circadian rhythms, has been proven to significantly advance melatonin production. This could offer a promising solution for those suffering from sleep disorders and other health issues linked to circadian misalignment. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improving-circadian-health">Improving circadian health</h2>



Published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms, the research represents a breakthrough in how humans can influence circadian rhythms. 



The findings hold significant promise for improving circadian health. Study co-author Jay Neitz is a professor of ophthalmology in the UW School of Medicine. 



“Our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercising-shift-internal-clock/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">internal clock</a> tells us how our body's supposed to act during different times of day, but the clock has to be set. If our brain is not synced to the time of day, then it's not going to work right," said Professor Neitz.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disrupted-circadian-rhythms">Disrupted circadian rhythms </h2>



The study suggests new strategies to combat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other health issues linked to disrupted circadian rhythms, offering hope for improving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-quality-is-determined-by-daily-activities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep quality</a>, mood stabilization, and overall mental health.



Circadian rhythms are naturally reset daily by the 24-hour solar light-dark cycles, which help regulate our biological processes in alignment with the environment. 



Professor Neitz noted that the light used in the LED device has alternating blue and orange wavelengths which stimulate the circuit that our brains use to reset our internal clocks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-melatonin">The role of melatonin </h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melatonin-keeps-fruits-and-vegetables-fresh-as-well-as-helping-you-sleep/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Melatonin</a>, the hormone responsible for sleep regulation and the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, is produced when light signals from the eyes stimulate specific areas of the brain to begin the winding-down process for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-sleep-patterns-affect-your-health-over-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a>.



This hormone plays a critical role in helping the body adjust to darkness, promoting relaxation, and ensuring restful sleep.



People spending more time under artificial light, especially in the evening, often experience delayed melatonin production, which can disrupt their sleep patterns and overall well-being. 



Prolonged exposure to artificial lighting can also interfere with the body’s ability to properly align with natural day-night cycles, contributing to sleep disturbances and fatigue.



To address this issue, the research team conducted a study comparing different types of artificial lights to measure their impact on melatonin production and their effectiveness in resetting circadian rhythms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-revolutionary-approach-to-lighting">A revolutionary approach to lighting</h2>



Unlike other commercial products that emphasize blue light to trigger melanopsin, this new LED light emits alternating blue and orange wavelengths, which stimulate a different circuit in the retina. 



“The light we developed does not involve the melanopsin photopigment. It stimulates a blue-yellow opponent circuit that operates through cone photoreceptors in the retina," explained Professor Neitz.



In an experiment, participants were exposed to three different light devices. The alternating blue-orange LED led to the most significant shift in melatonin production, advancing it by 1 hour and 20 minutes, compared to just 40 minutes for the blue LED and 2.8 minutes for white light.



“Even though our light looks white to the naked eye, we think your brain recognizes the alternating blue and orange wavelengths as the colors in the sky,” said Professor Neitz.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lighting-the-way-forward">Lighting the way forward</h2>



The LED device has now been successfully commercialized through the University of Washington. The product is distributed by TUO, a Chicago-based company. This marks an important step toward bringing this technology to the public.



By harnessing the natural color palette of sunrise and sunset, this innovative lighting solution offers a new approach to resetting circadian rhythms, potentially transforming how we address <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daylight-saving-time-changes-are-directly-linked-to-sleep-disorders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep disorders</a>, mood regulation, and overall health.



The technology holds the promise of improving well-being for those affected by modern lighting and lifestyle challenges, helping individuals reconnect with the rhythms of the natural world.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07487304241262918" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Biological Rhythms</a>.



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Colors of sunset and sunrise reset our circadian rhythms

Circadian rhythms are the natural, internal processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and repeat roughly every 24 hours. These rhythms, influenced by environmental cues like light and darkness, play a crucial role in various bodily functions ranging from sleep regulation to hormone release. When these rhythms fall out of sync - due to factors such as artificial lighting, irregular schedules, or travel across time zones - people can experience disruptions in sleep, mood, and overall well-being. Lights reset circadian rhythms New research has revealed that the vibrant...

New research from Ben-Gurion University published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/behavioural-brain-research">Behavioural Brain and Research</a> asked if animals have the ability to navigate outside of their home environment. The researchers took the question of navigational ability among <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-eating-animals-are-more-susceptible-to-cancer/">animals</a> to its logical extreme in an experiment with goldfish.



"Navigation is a critical ability for animal survival and is important for food foraging, finding shelter, seeking mates and a variety of other behaviors," explained the study authors.



"Given their fundamental role and universal function in the animal kingdom, it makes sense to explore whether space representation and navigation mechanisms are dependent on the species, ecological system, brain structures, or whether they share general and universal properties."



For the study, the scientists designed a sort of car-fish tank hybrid. A goldfish floats in a tank on wheels and a sophisticated camera system translates the fish’s swimming movements into spinning tires. If the fish swims forward in the tank, the car moves forward, a backstroke from the fish means the car shifts into reverse. The same is true for side to side movements.&nbsp;



From the watery cockpit, the fish was able to control the motor car but scientists wondered if the fish was actually navigating or if the animal was accidentally controlling its new ride. To test this, a target was placed on a wall outside of the tank and the fish went to driver’s ed.&nbsp;



After a few days of training, the fish was able to safely drive itself to the target, avoiding the obstacles of walls and ignoring false targets in preference for the real deal. In the end, the goldfish seemed to be as capable of a driver as many humans.&nbsp;



"The study hints that navigational ability is universal rather than specific to the environment," said study lead author Shachar Gvion, a PhD student in the Life Sciences Department in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.



"Second, it shows that goldfish have the cognitive ability to learn a complex task in an environment completely unlike the one they evolved in. As anyone who has tried to learn how to ride a bike or to drive a car knows, it is challenging at first."



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Can a goldfish drive a car on land?

New research from Ben-Gurion University published in the journal Behavioural...

A,Happy,Gray,And,White,Pit,Bull,Terrier,Mixed,Breed

A new brain imaging study from researchers at the <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> in Hungary has found that dogs can distinguish between speech and non-speech, and their brains can detect an unfamiliar language. Published today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118811">NeuroImage</a>, the research is the first to show that a non-human brain can differentiate between two different languages.



“Some years ago, I moved from Mexico to Hungary to join the Neuroethology of Communication Lab at the Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, for my postdoctoral research,” explains Laura Cuaya, first author of the study.&nbsp; “My dog, Kun-kun, came with me. Before, I had only talked to him in Spanish. So I was wondering whether Kun-kun noticed that people in Budapest spoke a different language – Hungarian.”&nbsp;



Kun-kun, along with 17 other adult dogs of various types, was trained to lie still in a brain scanner while being exposed to excerpts of spoken Spanish, spoken Hungarian or to scrambled fragments of either language that sounded completely unnatural and constituted non-speech.&nbsp;



All the dogs were family pets that had previously heard only one of these languages spoken by its owner. Hungarian was the language spoken in the environment of 16 dogs, Spanish of 2 dogs (familiar language), and the other language was unfamiliar to all dogs.



While listening to these speech and non-speech sounds, the dogs’ brain activity was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The researchers hypothesized that speech detection by the dogs would be reflected by differential brain activity patterns for speech vs. scrambled speech (non-speech). In addition, they expected that language representation (i.e., sensitivity to language-specific regularities in the speech signal) would be reflected in differential brain activity patterns when exposed to speech in a familiar vs. an unfamiliar language.



The results showed that differential activity occurred in the near-primary auditory cortical regions of the brain when dogs heard natural speech or scrambled, unnatural speech. This indicated that speech naturalness was detected by the dogs.&nbsp;



“Dog brains, like human brains, can distinguish between speech and non-speech,” said Raúl&nbsp;Hernández-Pérez, co-author of the study. “But the mechanism underlying this speech detection ability may be different from speech sensitivity in humans: whereas human brains are specially tuned to speech, dog brains may simply detect the naturalness of the sound,” he explains.&nbsp;



Furthermore, dog brains could also distinguish between Spanish and Hungarian. Different brain activity was recorded in the ventral parts of the auditory cortex in response to whether the language detected was familiar or unfamiliar. The study therefore provides the first evidence of distinct brain activity patterns for two languages in a non-human species. It is not known, however, whether dogs could also discriminate between two unfamiliar languages.



Interestingly, the older the dog was, the better their brain distinguished between the familiar and the unfamiliar language. “Each language is characterized by a variety of auditory regularities. Our findings suggest that during their lives with humans, dogs pick up on the auditory regularities of the language they are exposed to,” said&nbsp;Hernández-Pérez.&nbsp;



“This study showed for the first time that a non-human brain can distinguish between two languages,” explained Attila Andics, co-author of the study.&nbsp;



“It is exciting because it reveals that the capacity to learn about the regularities of a language is not uniquely human. Still, we do not know whether this capacity is dogs’ specialty, or general among non-human species. Indeed, it is possible that the brain changes from the tens of thousands of years that dogs have been living with humans have made them better language listeners, but this is not necessarily the case. Future studies will have to find this out,” concludes&nbsp;Andics. &nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;

Dogs can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages

A new brain imaging study from researchers at the Eötvös...

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, claiming an estimated 17 million people each year. In a new study from <a href="https://www.ucla.edu/">UCLA</a>, experts report that grapes can help protect&nbsp; heart health by boosting beneficial gut bacteria and lowering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intermittent-fasting-has-extraordinary-health-benefits/">cholesterol</a>.



Even among people who rarely eat fruit and vegetables, the study revealed that four weeks of grape consumption produced substantial heart health benefits, reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke.



“We found that grapes have a beneficial effect on gut bacteria, which is great news, since a healthy gut is critical to good health,” said study lead author Professor Zhaoping Li.



“This study deepens our knowledge and expands the range of health benefits for grapes, even as the study reinforces the heart health benefits of grapes with lowered cholesterol."



Grapes are considered to be a "superfood" that is rich in powerful antioxidants called polyphenols that can decrease inflammation.



The study was focused on participants between the ages of 21 and 55 who consumed about 40 grapes per day, which is the equivalent of two servings. After several weeks, the individuals had higher levels of gut microbiome diversity.



This community of trillions of bacteria in the gut is widely considered to be the body's first line of defense against chronic illness and disease. Therefore, diverse gut bacteria are critically important to human health.&nbsp;



After a month of eating grapes on a daily basis, the study participants were found to have nearly eight percent less “bad” cholesterol. In addition, bile acids fell by more than 40 percent. This is significant because malabsorption of bile acid leads to a drop in good cholesterol and a rise in bad cholesterol.&nbsp;



The harmful fats associated with bad cholesterol can cause blocking and clotting of blood clots and cut off blood flow to the heart or brain.



Previous studies have linked improved heart health to grapes in other forms as well, including red wine. According to the researchers, the findings suggest a promising new role for grapes in gut health and reinforce the benefits of grapes on heart health.



“In summary, our results provide novel preliminary information about the effects of grape intake on the gut microbiome, host cholesterol, and BA metabolism. These data will assist in the future design of studies to explore the health benefits of grape consumption.”



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Grapes lower bad cholesterol and protect heart health

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death...

Two new studies published in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/home">The Lancet Planetary Health</a> have investigated the negative impact of urban <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/long-term-pollution-exposure-linked-to-hypertension/">air pollution</a> on public health. Both studies highlight the urgent need to improve air quality in cities worldwide and to reduce exposure to pollution, particularly among children and the elderly.&nbsp;



In the <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00350-8/fulltext">first study</a>, scientists found that 86 percent of people living in cities worldwide (approximately 2.5 billion people) are exposed to annual average levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exceeding the <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) guideline from 2005 by seven times. This exposure has led to 1.8 million excess deaths globally in 2019 that were caused by pollution-related illnesses such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, lung cancers, or lower respiratory infections (a staggering average of 61 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants).



“The majority of the world’s urban population still live in areas with unhealthy levels of PM2.5,” said study lead author Veronica Southerland, a doctoral student in Environmental Sciences at the <a href="https://www.gwu.edu/">George Washington University</a>. “Avoiding the large public health burden caused by air pollution will require strategies that not only reduce emissions but also improve overall public health to reduce vulnerability.”



The <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00255-2/fulltext">second study</a> revealed that almost two million cases of asthma in children were linked to traffic-related nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution in 2019, representing 8.5 percent of all new pediatric asthma cases reported that year. Approximately two in three of these cases occurred in urban areas.



“Our results demonstrate the important influence of combustion-related air pollution on children’s health in cities globally,” said study co-author Dr. Susan Anenberg, an associate professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University.&nbsp;



“In places that have effective air quality management programs, NO2&nbsp;concentrations have been trending downward for decades, with benefits for children’s respiratory health. Even with these improvements, current NO2&nbsp;levels contribute substantially to pediatric asthma incidence, highlighting that mitigating air pollution should be a critical element of children’s public health strategies.”



Both studies stress the dangers associated with urban air pollution and call for urgent public health measures to mitigate the impact of widespread pollutants such as PM2.5 and NO2 on the health of urban inhabitants.&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;

Children's public health strategies must focus on pollution

Two new studies published in the journal The Lancet Planetary...

Star,Shaped,Sun,Rays,Passing,Through,The,Green,Leaves,Of

Although the exact composition of the Earth’s earliest atmosphere is not known, geological evidence suggests that it was largely made of dinitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) with small amounts of water vapor and other gases such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-are-higher-than-previously-estimated/">methane</a>. Such an atmosphere contained practically no free oxygen (O2). 



Around 2 billion years ago, however, oxygen gradually became more common in the atmosphere, a process that culminated in what scientists term the Great Oxygenation Event. During this period (between 2.4 and 2.0 billion years ago), O2 began to accumulate in Earth’s atmosphere and levels rose to the extent that they could support life as we know it today. This coincided with the evolution of complex cells, followed by plants, animals and humans.&nbsp;



For decades scientists have debated when measurable levels of oxygen first appeared in Earth’s atmosphere, with some studies suggesting that there were chemical signals of the presence of O2 long before the Great Oxygenation Event commenced. The scientists refer to these earlier, transient traces of oxygen as “whiffs”.&nbsp;



In particular, two studies published in 2007 found evidence of such a whiff of oxygen based on samples of the 2.5-billion-year-old Mount McRae Shale, part of an intensively studied 2004 drill core collected in Western Australia by the NASA Astrobiology Drilling Program. The studies concluded that oxygen was present in Earth’s atmosphere long before the start of the Great Oxygenation Event.&nbsp;



“When the results came out a decade ago, they were startling,” said&nbsp;<a href="http://www.elsi.jp/en/members/researchers/jkirschvink">Joseph Kirschvink</a>, professor of geobiology at Caltech, and member of the Earth-Life Science Institute at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. “The findings seemed to contradict abundant evidence from other geological indicators that argued against the presence of free oxygen before the Great Oxygenation Event.”



The 2007 studies were based on evidence of oxidation and reduction of molybdenum and sulfur, two elements that are widely used to test for the presence of atmospheric oxygen since it cannot be measured directly in rock. The findings raised fundamental questions about the early evolution of life on Earth.



The observation of early oxygen was thought to support earlier findings that microscopic cyanobacteria were present on Earth at that early time and that photosynthesis by these organisms released oxygen into the ancient atmosphere. These 2007 studies, and their implications about the origin of life and its evolution, have been widely accepted and have served as the basis for a series of other research papers over the last 14 years.



A new analysis of the same rock core samples has, however, cast some doubt on this approach. The new study dates back to 2009, when a Caltech-led team began to conduct additional analysis. The team, some of whom have since moved to other institutions, took over a decade to collect and analyze data, resulting now in the first published study that directly refutes the finding of a whiff of early oxygen.



“Rocks this old tell a complicated story that goes beyond what the world was like when the mud was deposited,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gps.caltech.edu/people/woodward-fischer">Woodward Fischer</a>, a professor of geobiology at Caltech and co-author of the study. “These samples also contain minerals that formed long after their deposition when ancient environmental signals were mixed with younger ones, confusing interpretations of the conditions on ancient Earth.”



For the new study, the research team recorded images of the 2004 drill core on a flatbed optical scanner. Based on those observations, they then collected thin samples for additional analyses. The suite of approaches used on the physical specimens, including synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, gave the team additional insight into the geology and chemistry of the samples as well as the relative timing of processes that were identified.



Their findings, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>, suggested that the chemical signatures previously used as evidence of the presence of whiffs of oxygen were actually introduced into the rock at a later stage, long after the rock was formed. They explain that the Mount McRae Shale formed from organic carbon and volcanic dust and that fracturing processes long after the rock’s initial formation created cracks into which fluids (carrying molybdenum) could flow, thereby introducing signals of oxidation hundreds of millions of years after the rocks formed.&nbsp;



“Our observations of abundant pyroclastic glass shards and intercalated tuff beds, paired with the recent insight that volcanic glass is a major host of [molybdenum], offers a new explanation for the [molybdenum] enrichments in the ‘whiff’ interval,” the paper says.



If the molybdenum was not from oxygen-based weathering of rocks on land, its presence does not support the original finding of early atmospheric O2. &nbsp;The original 2007 studies used analysis of powdered samples sourced from throughout the Mount McRae Shale, but by using a different methodological approach and&nbsp;a series of high-resolution techniques, the new research challenges the original findings. In addition, it calls into question all the research that followed from those original studies.&nbsp;



“Our new, high-resolution data clearly indicates that the sedimentary context of chemical signals has to be carefully considered in all ancient records,” said Johnson.



In addition, the study reported “negligible” levels of atmospheric oxygen in the period 150 million years before the sudden change that marked the start of the Great Oxygenation Event. Furthermore, the findings challenge the proposed early existence of cyanobacteria, instead supporting the hypothesis that the process of photosynthesis only evolved shortly before the Great Oxygenation Event.&nbsp;



“Without the whiff of oxygen reported by a series of earlier studies, the scientific community needs to critically re-evaluate its understanding of the first half of Earth’s history,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://earthsciences.dartmouth.edu/people/sarah-p-slotznick">Sarah Slotznick</a>, an assistant professor of earth sciences at <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth</a> and first author of the study.



“We expect that our research will generate interest both from those studying Earth and those looking beyond at other planets,” said Slotznick. “We hope that it stimulates further conversation and thought about how we analyze chemical signatures in rocks that are billions of years old.”



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Were there "whiffs" of oxygen on early Earth?

Although the exact composition of the Earth’s earliest atmosphere is...

Climate change is often associated with the endangerment of species, so it’s natural that a recently discovered expansion of trout species in streams has been assumed to be positive. However, a new study from the <a href="https://www.umt.edu/">University of Montana</a> has discovered that this expansion is the result of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-led-ancient-lions-and-bears-to-extinction/">climate</a> change and is actually reducing stream habitat sizes of native trout.



“This study had three main questions: How have the distributions of native and invasive trout shifted in Montana over the last 30 years, how will they change in the future, and what factors are causing those changes?” outlined Donovan Bell, lead author of the study.



The research analyzed the impacts of climate change associated with a massive long-term dataset concerning the distributions of five trout species in the Rocky Mountains: native westslope cutthroat, bull, brown, rainbow, and invasive brook trout.



It was discovered that between 1993 and 2018, distributions of native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout declined by 18 percent and six percent respectively, with predictive analysis suggesting further decreases of 39 percent and 16 percent by 2080. On the other hand, invasive brown and rainbow trout show potential to prosper due to the increased climate size.



The problematic situation for bull trout arises from the warmer water temperatures and lower summer water levels, as the species require cold streams and adequate flow to survive. Westslope cutthroat trout populations instead struggled due to the invasive competition from rainbow trout.



“Our two native trout species in Montana will decline in the future unless appropriate conservation action is taken,” Bell stated. “Our results suggest that tailoring conservation strategies to specific species and specific climate-change threats is important for native fish conservation.”



For example, suppression of invasive species will be more beneficial for the conservation of westslope cutthroat trout, whereas conserving bull trouts in streams will be more successful if their critical cold-water habitat is protected.



“Globally, climate-induced changes to aquatic habitats are predicted to threaten at least one-third of freshwater fishes, and some invasive species could take advantage of such changes,” explained co-author Clint Muhlfeld. “These scenarios seem to be playing out in our backyard with native and invasive trout.”



The study also highlights the importance of using and maintaining long-term datasets covering large regions to shed light on the relationships between changing climates and their species.&nbsp;



“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to use data meticulously collected over decades in Montana to convincingly answer complex questions like these,” added David Schmetterling, fisheries research coordinator for Montana FWP.



However, study co-author Andrew Whiteley emphasized the consequences of this particular issue, explaining that if these trout species are not conserved, there will be an annual cost of around $650 million to the local economy. However, he remained positive, assuming that conservation efforts will continue to be put in place and researched further.



The study has been published in <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Shrinking habitats, alien species threaten native trout

Climate change is often associated with the endangerment of species,...

Antibiotics have been mass produced since the 1940s and have been used widely to treat infections caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-can-help-sustainably-extract-rare-earth-elements/">bacteria</a>. Although their use has resulted in vastly improved health outcomes for millions of people, antibiotic resistance in bacteria has become a serious public health problem. The accepted understanding is that resistance in human pathogens is a modern phenomenon that is driven by the clinical use (or over prescription) of antibiotics.&nbsp;



Bacteria may become resistant to antibiotic treatments when the medication is used unnecessarily (for example, to treat a viral infection – antibiotics do not kill viruses), or when patients do not complete a course of antibiotics. This has the effect of leaving the most resistant of bacterial cells behind, able to divide and form new cells that are also resistant. Once resistant to a common antibiotic, treatment with a new, more powerful antibiotic must commence if the infection is to be stopped.



In a study published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, an international team of scientists has found that antibiotic resistant bacteria exist on hedgehogs and that this resistance first developed around 200 years ago, long before the use of antibiotics commenced.&nbsp;



The scientific team, including researchers from the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Denmark’s Serum Statens Institut and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, present evidence that a type of antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus is found commonly on hedgehog skins and that it arose in nature long before the use of antibiotics in humans and livestock.



In many healthy hedgehogs, the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is found on the skin between the quills. In addition, hedgehog skin is home to a species of fungus, Trichophyton&nbsp;erinaceid, and the two types of organisms compete for space. The fungus secretes a type of antibiotic that controls the presence of the bacterium and, over time, this has led to the development of antibiotic resistant S. aureus on the skins of many hedgehogs. This pathogen is now known as methicillin-resistant S. aureus, or MRSA.



Unfortunately, MRSA infects people as well. Up to 60 percent of hedgehogs examined in the study carried a type of MRSA called mecC-MRSA, which causes 1 in 200 of all MRSA infections in humans. Analysis of the genetic changes that occurred in the genome of mecC-MRSA show that this pathogen emerged around 200 years ago and therefore natural, biological processes drove its evolution, not antibiotic use.&nbsp;



“Using sequencing technology we have traced the genes that give&nbsp;mecC-MRSA its antibiotic resistance all the way back to their first appearance, and found they were around in the nineteenth century,” said Dr. Ewan Harrison, a researcher at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and University of Cambridge.



“Our study suggests that it wasn’t the use of penicillin that drove the initial emergence of MRSA, it was a natural biological process. We think MRSA evolved in a battle for survival on the skin of hedgehogs, and subsequently spread to livestock and humans through direct contact.”



Antibiotic resistance in pathogens that cause human infections has commonly been thought of as a modern phenomenon, caused by clinical use of antibiotics. However, misuse of antibiotics is now accelerating the process, and antibiotic resistance is rising to dangerously high levels in all parts of the world.&nbsp;



MRSA was first identified in patients in 1960, but today the World Health Organization considers MRSA to be one of the world’s greatest threats to human health. It is also a major challenge in livestock farming. Because of its resistance to antibiotics, MRSA is more difficult to treat and has gained the reputation of being a ‘superbug’ that colonizes hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.&nbsp;



Since almost all the antibiotics we use today arose in nature, the researchers say it is likely that resistance to them already exists in nature too. Overuse of any antibiotic in humans or livestock will favor resistant strains of the pathogen, so it is only a matter of time before the antibiotic starts to lose its effectiveness.



“This study is a stark warning that when we use antibiotics, we have to use them with care. There’s a very big wildlife ‘reservoir’ where antibiotic-resistant bacteria can survive – and from there it’s a short step for them to be picked up by livestock, and then to infect humans,” said Professor Mark Holmes, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine.



“It isn’t just hedgehogs that harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria – all wildlife carries many different types of bacteria, as well as parasites, fungi and viruses,” said Professor Holmes.



“Wild animals, livestock and humans are all interconnected: we all share one ecosystem. It isn’t possible to understand the evolution of antibiotic resistance unless you look at the whole system.”



The researchers stress that the findings should not make people fear hedgehogs: humans rarely get infections with&nbsp;mecC-MRSA, even though it has been present in hedgehogs for more than 200 years.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

"Superbug" arose in hedgehogs long before antibiotics

Antibiotics have been mass produced since the 1940s and have...

Citrus Greening Disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), causes bitter, useless citrus fruit. Florida’s citrus industry has been decimated by the disease, which has now been discovered in California where 80 percent of the US’s citrus is grown. Over a quarter of a million <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oranges-lower-risk-macular-degeneration/">oranges</a>, grapefruits and mandarins are threatened.&nbsp;



To combat this menace, a $1.5 million grant has been given to <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California Riverside</a> (UCR) scientists to find disease resistant citrus plants.&nbsp;



“If you find a disease affecting your crops, a good first step is to look for plants that are able to grow and produce despite infection," said UCR geneticist Danelle Seymour. "Then you can start to identify the genetic basis of the disease tolerance and make sure the next generation of plants includes these genes.”



To find tolerant plants, Seymour and UCR plant pathologist Philippe Rolshausen will study 350 citrus hybrids grown by collaborators in Florida. These plants are already infected with HLB but seem to be living longer, healthier lives and producing more fruit than other infected plants. This is what makes this project unique, in that it’s looking at infected plants in an area where the disease is endemic and the test size is quite large as well.&nbsp;



“The environment in which these plants were grown means we can be confident that these rootstocks will enhance tree health and yield in HLB-affected areas," said Seymour. "Also, because our data set is so large, we’ve got the opportunity to identify plants with levels of tolerance that exceed current commercial varieties.”



Beyond resistance to HLB, the scientists are also testing citrus plants for resistance to other diseases already found in California.&nbsp;



“This way, we’re making sure the next generation of rootstocks will include the right genes and that we’re being as efficient as possible in our breeding practices,” said Seymour.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists seek out citrus plants with disease resistance

Citrus Greening Disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), causes bitter,...

Climate change is causing increasingly more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-heatwaves-reduce-the-oceans-ability-to-absorb-carbon/">heatwaves</a> all over the globe, affecting humans, as well as wildlife and various ecosystems. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW) has investigated the unprecedented heat mortality of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) during the severe heatwave of January 19, 2019 at Punta Tombo, Argentina, when temperatures rose to an all-time record of 44°C.



According to the researchers, this massive heatwave killed at least 354 penguins in a single day, out of which nearly three quarters (264) were adults. Most of them died of dehydration. “This extreme event fell near the tail end of the breeding season for Magellanic penguins, so it killed a large number of adults, as well as chicks,” said study lead author&nbsp;Katie Holt, a doctoral student in Biology at UW. “It’s the first time we’ve recorded a mass mortality event at Punta Tombo connected to extreme temperatures.”



Holt and her colleagues found 27 percent of adult penguin corpses lying along paths leading from the breeding colony to the ocean. Since penguins have glands that can filter salt out of water, the researchers believe that the victims were desperately trying to reach the ocean to quench their thirst. Travelling from the colony to the ocean can take an adult penguin up to 40 minutes to complete – a task which proved impossible during that heatwave.



“Any mass die-off like this is a concern,” said Holt. “But what is most concerning about heat-death mortality is that it has the potential to kill a lot of adults. The population viability of long-lived seabirds — like Magellanic penguins — relies on long lifespans. Adult Magellanic penguins can live more than 30 years, so they typically have many opportunities to successfully raise chicks. If we’re losing large numbers of adults from a single event like this, that’s a major concern.”



At least eight out of ten adults that died were male. However, this likely reflects the high prevalence of male Magellanic penguins at Punta Tombo (about three males for each female), rather than a gender differential survivability in extreme heat.



Global warming is expected to produce increasingly more extreme weather events all around the Earth, endangering many species. And while animals are often surprisingly adaptable, the severity of such events may impede their struggles to survive.



“Penguins could have the ability to cope, like moving breeding sites,” said Holt. “But it will take time to investigate whether those adaptations are effective.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/condor/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ornithapp/duab052/6497508?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Ornithological Applications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Magellanic penguins were decimated by an extreme heatwave

Climate change is causing increasingly more heatwaves all over the...

Cool,Skateboarder,Outdoors,-,Afroamerican,Guy,Jumping,With,His,Skate

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that skateboarding in middle age can help people cope with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/botox-injections-may-reduce-anxiety-and-depression/">depression</a>, bond with their children, and achieve emotional well-being. According to study author Dr. Paul O’Connor, a sociologist at the University of Exeter, aside from its physical benefits, skateboarding can alleviate mental health issues and give “profound meaning and resonance.”



The popularity of skateboarding has risen after the first <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/year-three-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-pandemic/">COVID-19</a> lockdown. It made its Olympic debut as an official sport at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. A reason behind its sudden popularity could be the fact that the measure of success in skateboarding is more fluid compared to other sports, with occasional failure seen as an intrinsic part of this activity.



In order to investigate the benefits of this sport, Dr. O’Connor interviewed 30 middle-aged skateboarders from the United States and Canada, and observed skateboarders in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.&nbsp;



“For those I spoke to skateboarding was more than about looking after physical health,” Dr. O’Connor reported. “On at least two occasions when I asked informants to try to explain what skateboarding meant to them, I was confronted with grown men fighting back tears, literally lost for words in grasping to communicate the importance and gravitas of their pastime.”



The study findings suggest that skateboarding significantly alleviated symptoms of depression and other mental health issues, provided an opportunity to re-connect with offspring, and helped people cope with addictions and substance abuse.



“Middle-aged skateboarders appear to acknowledge the health benefits of being active and obtaining exercise through skateboarding; however, their main focus appears to be pleasure,” explained&nbsp;Dr. O'Connor.



“Older skateboarders may well be interested in losing weight and keeping fit, but these are often reported to be by-products of the more general well-being achieved through the activity. Skateboarding provides a serious emotional outlet for people who have experienced personal trials in the collapse of long-term relationships, career challenges, parenthood, and substance abuse.”



Moreover, while sports such as football or rugby have a strong competitive nature, with clear-defined instances of success or failure, “lifestyle sports” such as skateboarding tend to be more about the intrinsic enjoyment of the activity and less about competing with others.



“In skateboarding there is a much more fluid understanding of success, and one that is open to failure as a contingent part of the activity, of both learning and progressing,” Dr. O’Connor concluded.



The study is published as a chapter of the book <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9780429340505/lifestyle-sports-identities-tyler-dupont-becky-beal">Lifestyle Sports and Identities</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Skateboarding alleviates depression and increases well-being

A new study led by the University of Exeter has...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.16267">Marine Ecology</a> has found that a change in climate is the most likely cause of the mysterious disappearance of ancient brown <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-bears-that-eat-human-food-lack-gut-diversity/">bears</a> and lions from North America about a millennium before the last Ice Age.



By sequencing DNA from fossils of cave lions and bears from North American and Eurasia, a research team from the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/">University of Adelaide</a> discovered that the timing of these ancient animals’ extinction from parts of North America (especially the Yukon Territory and Alaska) coincided with widespread vegetation change in these regions.



According to the scientists, the warm temperatures before the last Ice Age might have caused significant changes in the abundance of different kind of plants, which initially led to the extinction of several species of herbivores and then also of their predators, including lions and bears. A few centuries later, the colder temperatures that led up to the Ice Age might have reversed the changes and made these regions once more hospitable for both the herbivores and their predators.



These findings suggest that past ecosystems have been extremely changeable and that the abundance of various species has always been highly sensitive to changes in climate.



“There's a common perception that outside of mass extinctions or direct human interference, ecosystems tend to remain stable over thousands or even millions of years,” said study co-author Dr. Kieren Mitchell, an evolutionary biologist and expert in Bioinformatics at the <a href="https://www.otago.ac.nz/">University of Otago</a>, New Zealand.



“As illustrated by our study of the fossil record, that's not necessarily the case. Previous research has shown that brown bears (or grizzly bears) disappeared from some parts of North America for thousands of years prior to the last Ice Age. They later reappeared, walking from Russia to Alaska across the Bering Land Bridge – possibly at the same time as people moved across the Bridge into North America too.”



“While many might think that species arrive in a region and stay put, we show that the past was much more dynamic, involving multiple waves of dispersal and local extinctions in this case,” Dr. Mitchell concluded.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change led ancient lions and bears to extinction

A new study published in the journal Marine Ecology has...

The rhythms of activity in all living things are known to be affected by gravity, such as the gravitational pull of a full moon, yet this phenomenon has been largely neglected in the field of scientific research.



In a new study from the <a href="https://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/english">University of Campinas</a> (UNICAMP), experts have confirmed that the gravitational tides generated by the moon and sun influence the behavior of plants and animals, regardless of other factors such as light or darkness.&nbsp;



"The celestial mechanics of the Sun, Moon, and Earth dominate the variations in gravitational force that all matter, live or inert, experiences on Earth. Expressed as gravimetric tides, these variations are pervasive and have forever been part of the physical ecology with which organisms evolved," wrote the study authors.



"Here, we first offer a brief review of previously proposed explanations that gravimetric tides constitute a tangible and potent force shaping the rhythmic activities of organisms. Through meta-analysis, we then interrogate data from three study cases and show the close association between the omnipresent gravimetric tides and cyclic activity."



The researchers explained that all organisms exhibit cyclical variations in their levels of activity that are necessary for survival. These cycles are aligned with variations in day and night, or the passing of the seasons.



“All matter on Earth, both live and inert, experiences the effects of the gravitational forces of the sun and moon expressed in the form of tides," said study co-author Cristiano de Mello Gallep.&nbsp;



"The periodic oscillations exhibit two daily cycles and are modulated monthly and annually by the motions of these two celestial bodies. All organisms on the planet have evolved in this context."&nbsp;



"What we sought to show in the article is that gravitational tides are a perceptible and potent force that has always shaped the rhythmic activities of these organisms."



The three previously published cases analyzed fly the study were focused on: the swimming activity of isopods that emerged at least 300 million years ago, reproduction among corals, and growth modulation in sunflower seedlings inferred from autoluminescence.



“The data shows that in the absence of other rhythmic influences such as lighting or temperature, local gravitational tides are sufficient to organize the cyclical behavior of these organisms," said Gallep.



"This evidence questions the validity of so-called free-run experiments, in which several environmental factors are controlled but gravitational oscillations are not taken into consideration. These oscillations continue to exist, and may modulate the behavior of living organisms."



Many rhythmic patterns such as circadian rhythms are linked to the day-night or light-dark cycle. However, some rhythmic cycles are maintained even under controlled laboratory conditions.



The researchers considered coastal organisms such as crustaceans, among which the influence of tidal cycles persists when they are removed from their natural habitats.



“These animals modulate their behavior in tune with the ebb and flow of the tides, in a cycle of approximately 12.4 hours that derives from lunisolar dynamics, even when they’re moved to a laboratory with stable and controlled aquatic conditions,” explained Gallep. “The pattern persists for several days, matching lunisolar tidal timing at the site where the organisms were collected in nature.”&nbsp;



"The brief analysis presented here highlights a possible caveat in the phenomenological significance of so-called free-run experiments in the laboratory," wrote the study authors.



"Free-running seems to assume that constant light, constant darkness, or constant humidity or temperature imply overall constant conditions and an absence of temporal cues to the organism under test. This is evidently not the case, as several other and distinct physical quantities can vary, and do so with their own cyclic patterns."



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jxb">Journal of Experimental Botany</a>.



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

All living things are affected by gravitational tides

The rhythms of activity in all living things are known...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How the immune system responds to injury

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...